Backlash stirs in US against foreign worker visas

Kelly Parker was thrilled when she landed her dream job in 2012 providing tech support for Harley-Davidson's Tomahawk, Wisconsin, plants. The divorced mother of three hoped it was the beginning of a new career with the motorcycle company.

Norm Matloff, a computer science professor at the University of California, Davis, agreed that age plays into it — not because older workers are less skilled but because they typically require higher pay. Temporary workers also tend to be cheaper because they don't require long-term health care for dependents and aren't around long enough to get significant raises, he said.

Because they can be deported if they lose their jobs, these employees are often loath to complain about working conditions. And even half the standard systems analyst salary in the U.S. is above what an H-1B holder would earn back home.

Such circumstances concern Americans searching for work in a still recovering economy.

Jennifer Wedel of Fort Worth, Texas, publicly challenged Obama on the visa issue in 2012, making headlines when she asked him via a public online chat about the number of foreign workers being hired — given that her husband, a semiconductor engineer, couldn't find work.

Wedel said her husband eventually found a job in the health care industry, taking a $40,000 pay cut.

"It's a slap in the face to every American who worked hard to get their experience and degrees and has 10 or 15 years of experience," she said, adding that firms want that experience but don't want to pay for it.

To her, the issue isn't about a shortage of workers who have the right skills. Put simply, she said: "It's the money."

Popular Comments

I read of study out of Utah State University several years ago that pretty much
came to the same conclusion. The visa system for getting high tech workers into
the country was being abused. There wasnt the shortage of high tech workers
that was
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2:09 p.m. July 6, 2014

Top comment

Brio

Alpine, UT

The only shortage of workers in this country are for those who are willing to
work for third world country wages. The law of supply and demand will facilitate
those companies without outside country interference... especially with
unemployment rates
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5:31 p.m. July 6, 2014

Top comment

Laura Bilington

Maple Valley, WA

"Wedel said her husband eventually found a job in the health care industry,
taking a $40,000 pay cut.

'It's a slap in the face to every
American who.. has 10 or 15 years of experience,' adding that firms want
that
More..